Asylum Applicants in the EU An Overview Figure 1 7 6 Top 5 EU countries with the highest number of asylum applicants from January 29 to March 216 Number per month in 1 Daniela Wech 1 5 4 The number of refugees that applied for asylum in the EU last year was significantly higher than in previous years. A considerable share of asylum applicants was granted permission to stay. In addition to providing information on asylum applicants as well as decisions on asylum applications, this article also presents survey findings with regard to the qualification structure of asylum applicants. 3 2 1 Figure 2 29 21 211 212 213 214 215 216 Total number in 1 6 United Kingdom Asylum applicants in the 15 largest EU countries from April 215 to March 216 Number per 1 inhabitants 18 Asylum applications in the EU 5 4 15 12 3 Figure 1 shows the development 2 in the number of asylum applicants per month in the top 5 EU 1 countries with the highest number of applications since 29. 2 These countries were,,, and the United Kingdom. In the years from 29 until 212, the number of asylum applicants in these countries was below or around 5, per month. At the end of 212, monthly applications in exceeded the number of 1, for the first time. Since the beginning of 213, the absolute number of asylum applications per month in has constantly been higher than in any other EU country. It rose significantly during the years 213 to 215; the increase was especially pronounced in autumn 215. This was the time at which the topic refugee crisis started to gain attention in the public debate in the EU. At that time, the monthly number of asylum applicants went up in all top 5 EU 1 Ifo Institute. The author would like to thank Dominik Elsner and Jan-Philipp Suchta for data research assistance. 2 All figures in this article with monthly data show numbers until March 216. This is the latest month for which data was available for all EU countries (date of reference: 14 June 216). This is necessary to allow for cross-country comparisons. UK Spain Poland Romania Netherlands Belgium Greece countries. experienced the largest increase in one single month. Since the end of 215, the numbers have tended to decline in all countries. However, there are differences across countries. Whereas the number of asylum applicants reached the same level as prior to the peak in, it climbed to a fresh peak in at the beginning of 216. 3 In absolute numbers, was the country in which most people applied for asylum. However, when accounting for the population size, a different picture emerges. Figure 2 depicts the number of asylum applicants in the 15 largest EU countries both in total numbers, as well as relative to the population size of the respective 3 Poutvaara and Wech (215) and Wech (216a,b) deal with the situation in. Czech Rep. Portugal Hungary Austria 9 6 3 59 CESifo DICE Report 3/216 (September)
Figure 3 First time asylum seekers in EU Member States by country of citizenship, 215 44% 2 EU 4% 36% 26% 2 14% 7 United Kingdom 7% Afghans (14%) and in third place Iraqis () followed by applicants from Kosovo () and Albania (). Pakistan, Eritrea, Nigeria and Iran were also among the main countries of origin of asylum applicants in the EU. Figure 3 reveals major differences in the main countries of origin across countries. In and, Syrians accounted for a large share of applicants (36% and 3 respectively), whereas in, only 7% of all applicants came from Syria, and in and the United Kingdom, Syria was not one of the three main countries of origin. In, for example, the top three countries of origin were Syria, Kosovo and Albania, while in, they were Pakistan, Nigeria and Gambia. There were also cross-country differences between the share of applicants that came from the three main countries of origin; in, this share accounted for 56% of applicants, whereas in, it only accounted for. 57% 2 1 26% 3 country. On the left axis, the accumulated numbers of applications during the 12-month period from April 215 to March 216 are shown in absolute numbers. On the right axis, the numbers per 1, inhabitants are shown. It becomes obvious that relative to its population size,, Hungary and Austria received the most asylum applications. The ratio of asylum applicants to the population was more than twice as high in and Hungary than in. It was relatively low in, the United Kingdom and three countries that were among the top 5 countries with the highest number of applicants in Figure 1. The ratio was much higher in Belgium and the Netherlands than in these three countries. Most people who applied for asylum in the EU in 215 came from Syria (2). In second place were 8% Syria Afghanistan Iraq Kosovo Albania Pakistan Eritrea Nigeria Iran Sudan Gambia Other Figure 4 Decisions on asylum applications National authorities are in charge of evaluating the asylum applications and deciding whether asylum is granted to a person or not. Figure 4 shows the top 5 EU countries with the highest number of pending asylum applications this means the countries with the highest number of applications being processed. It becomes obvious that the number has been increasing steadily in since 214. In March 216, there were over 47, pending asylum applications compared to fewer than 14, in January 214 (a more than threefold increase). Apart from, pending asylum applications only increased remarkably in. In December 215, the number was almost three times Top 5 EU countries with the highest number of pending asylum applicants from January 29 to March 216 5 4 3 2 1 Number per month in 1 29 21 211 212 213 214 215 216 Greece Belgium CESifo DICE Report 3/216 (September) 6
Figure 5 First instance decisions on asylum applications by outcome in EU Member States January to March 216 Figure 6 First instance decisions on asylum applications on EU average by citizenship January to March 216 First time asylum seekers in EU Member States by country of citizenship, 215 4% EU 4 3 66% United Kingdom Syria 8 Iraq 27% Afghanistan 2 44% 26% Eritrea 6% 1 % 2 6 74% 7 67% % Serbia % Albania % 1 4 1 9 Kosovo 9 67% Refugee status Refugee status Subsidiary protection Humanitarian reasons Rejections 96% Humanitarian reasons Subsidiary protection Rejections higher than in June 215 (more than 15, compared to around 55,). Figure 5 illustrates first instance decisions on asylum applications by outcome in the first quarter of 216. Refugee status is defined as protection under the Geneva Convention; authorisation to stay for humanitarian reasons means a person is granted permission to stay under national law. Subsidiary protection status is granted to applicants who would face a real risk of suffering serious harm in their country of former habitual residence (Eurostat 216b). On EU average, almost half of all applicants were granted refugee status, were allowed to stay for humanitarian reasons and gained subsidiary protection status. 4% of asylum applications were rejected. These shares varied substantially across countries. In, over two thirds of applicants were granted refugee status, whereas in, only were considered as refugees. However, while 1 of applicants were granted authorisation to stay for humanitarian reasons in the latter country, this share was negligibly small in the former country. The share of rejected applications was only 3 in ; while in, the United Kingdom and, around two thirds of applications were rejected. First instance decisions on asylum applications on EU average by citizenship in the first quarter of 216 are shown in Figure 6. People from Syria were granted refugee status in 8 of all cases, whereas only of applications were rejected. The shares of applicants from Iraq and Eritrea that were considered as refugees were also very high (6 and 74% respectively). Nevertheless, the applications of over one quarter of all Iraqis were rejected. Applicants from Afghanistan were granted refugee status in 2 of all cases, while 26% were given subsidiary protection status. Compared to applications from people from Syria and Eritrea, the share of rejected applications was much higher (4). As far as applications from people from Serbia, Kosovo and Albania are concerned, a completely different picture emerges: 9 (Serbia), 96% (Kosovo) and 9(Albania) of all applications were rejected. 61 CESifo DICE Report 3/216 (September)
Figure 7 Age structure of asylum applicants in EU countries April 215 to March 216 First time asylum seekers in EU Member States by 17% 1 country of citizenship, 215 2 EU 5 % 4% 8 1 Demographic characteristics of asylum applicants Figure 7 illustrates the age structure of asylum applicants during the 12-month period from April 215 to March 216. On EU average, 5 of applicants were aged between 18 and 34 years. Children under the age of 14 accounted for of all applicants; the share of those aged between 14 and 17 years was. 17% of asylum applicants were between 35 and 64 years old, and only were 65 years or older. There were cross-country differences in the age structure of applicants. In, for example, 8 of applicants were between 18 and 34 years old, whereas this share was only 3 in. Nevertheless, the age structure showed common patterns across countries: Asylum applicants tended to be relatively young and the share of those aged 65 years or older was negligibly small in all countries. In terms of the gender structure of asylum applicants, there were also common patterns across the EU countries shown in Figure 7. During the 12-month period from April 215 to March 216, on EU average, 7 of applicants were male and 2 female. In most countries, men accounted for just over two thirds of applicants; while in a mere of applicants were women. 3 16% 5% 24% United Kingdom 57% 1 5 2 less than 14 14 17 18 34 35 64 65 or over 7% 2 Qualification structure of asylum applicants A question that is often asked with regard to the integration of asylum applicants is that of the qualification structure of those applying for asylum in the EU. As Syrians represented the highest share of all applicants (see Figure 3), preliminary findings from a survey conducted among Syrian refugees by the UNHCR (UNHCR 215) make it possible to draw tentative conclusions about the qualification structure of a significant share of asylum applicants. UNHCR teams asked Syrians who arrived in Greece between April and September 215 a set of questions, including one about their level of education. Although the results cannot be considered as representative of Syrian refugees in the EU, they provide interesting insights into the qualification structure of Syrian asylum applicants. 86% of interviewees reported a high education level: 4 of respondents had a university level education, 4 a secondary level education. stated that they had a primary level education and only reported having no education. These preliminary findings suggest that Syrians applying for asylum in the EU have a high level of education. The third highest number of asylum applicants in the EU came from Iraq (see Figure 3). The International Organization for Migration (IOM) conducted a survey among Iraqis who left their home country in 215 (IOM 216). During November and December 215, Iraqi migrants residing in Europe were interviewed by IOM. As in the survey described above, these findings cannot be considered as representative of those Iraqis who came to Europe in 215. 4 of interviewees reported having completed university education, 47% indicated that they have secondary level education. Only 1 of respondents stated that they had only completed primary education. The surveys conducted by the UNHCR and IOM indicate a high level of education on the part of Syrian and Iraqi asylum applicants. According to OECD (215), refugees are generally not among the very poorest people in their home country and also tend to have an above-average education level compared to all natives of their countries of origin. PISM (215) also concludes that Syrians who have recently come to Europe are from the richer and more educated part of Syrian society. In and Austria, national authorities conducted surveys among asylum applicants. The findings from these studies suggest that applicants tend to have a lower education level than the native population, although CESifo DICE Report 3/216 (September) 62
there are significant variations between citizenships (European Commission 216). In, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees interviewed asylum applicants in 215 (BAMF 216). The survey was conducted on a voluntary basis and its findings cannot be considered as representative. 1 of respondents reported to have attended a university and 5 stated that they had attended a secondary education institution (they were not asked if they also obtained a degree). 2 of interviewees went to a primary education institution and 7% responded that they had received no formal education. However, the answers varied significantly between respondents from different countries of origin. Applicants from Iran and Syria had a higher level of education than those from Albania, Kosovo, Serbia, Iraq, Afghanistan and Eritrea. 3 of Iranians and 27% of Syrians attended a university, the share of those with no formal education was below 4% among applicants from both countries (percentages below 4% were not reported). The share of asylum applicants from Afghanistan without any formal education was particularly high (27%), but it was also significantly higher than the average among applicants from Serbia (1). With the exception of interviewees from Iran, male respondents had a higher level of education than female respondents. Asylum applicants were also asked about their language skills. 2 of all survey participants reported having English language skills, this share was highest among Syrian respondents (4). It was much lower among applicants from Afghanistan (14%) and substantially lower among interviewees from Serbia (). In a survey conducted by the Ifo Institute in October 215, firms in were asked to judge the potential of hiring asylum applicants (Battisti, Felbermayr and Poutvaara 215). According to their responses, 5 of firms see good chances; but potential was typically seen for low-skilled jobs. A lack of language skills was considered as the most crucial obstacle to employing asylum applicants, followed by a low qualification level and a high bureaucratic burden. At the beginning of 216, the Ifo Institute conducted a further survey in which human resource managers were asked about their plans to hire asylum applicants (Falck et al. 216). Only 7% of respondents stated that they had employed asylum applicants during the past 24 months. 34% of all interviewees intended to do so in this year or from 217 onwards. This share was twice as high among those who responded having already hired asylum applicants. Language skills were seen as by far the most important barrier; however, the qualification structure of asylum applicants and bureaucratic barriers were also mentioned as obstacles. The findings from these two surveys indicate that a lack of (language) skills poses a challenge for the integration of asylum applicants into the labour market. The Austrian employment agency conducted a non-representative survey among asylum applicants during the time period from the end of August to mid-december 215 (AMS 216). Participants were asked about their highest educational degree. Respondents from Afghanistan were much lower qualified than those from Syria, Iran and Iraq (these were the only four countries that were analysed separately). of interviewees from Afghanistan reported to have no formal education, whereas this share was only among those from Syria and Iran and among those from Iraq. 67% of Syrian asylum applicants either had a university degree, a secondary education degree or a vocational degree. This share was 9% among applicants from Iran and 7 among applicants from Iraq, however, it was only 26% among respondents from Afghanistan. In general, women tended to have a higher education level than men. Concluding remarks The refugee crisis in the EU is largely driven by the large number of Syrians that came to Europe due to the civil war in their home country. Syrian nationals are also those who are most likely to be granted refugee status in the EU. Preliminary findings from non-representative surveys suggest that Syrian asylum applicants are highly educated compared to applicants from other countries of origin. However, the comparability of educational and vocational degrees is not easy to verify and language difficulties also pose a challenge for the integration of asylum applicants into the labour market. References Arbeitsmarktservice Österreich (AMS) (216), Pressekonferenz Asylberechtigte auf Jobsuche, http://www.ams.at/ueber-ams/medien/ ams-oesterreich-news/asylberechtigte-auf-jobsuche (accessed 22 June 216). Battisti, M., G. Felbermayr and P. Poutvaara (215), Arbeitsmarktchancen von Flüchtlingen in Deutschland: Ergebnisse einer Unternehmensbefragung, ifo Schnelldienst 68 (22), 22 5. Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge (BAMF) (216), BAMF- Kurzanalyse 3/216 Sozialstruktur, Qualifikationsniveau und Berufstätigkeit, Nürnberg. European Commission (216), An Economic Take on the Refugee Crisis, Commission Staff Working Document, Brussels. Eurostat (216a), Asylum and Managed Migration (t_migr), http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/database (accessed 14 June 216). 63 CESifo DICE Report 3/216 (September)
Eurostat (216b), Glossary: Asylum Decision, http://ec.europa.eu/ eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/glossary:asylum_decision (accessed 17 June 216). Falck, O., G. Felbermayr, A. Jacob-Puchalska and P. Poutvaara (216), Arbeitsmarktchancen von Flüchtlingen, ifo Schnelldienst 69 (4), 83 5. International Organization for Migration (IOM) (216), Migration Flows from Iraq to Europe, February 216, Geneva. OECD (215), Is This Humanitarian Migration Crisis Different?, Migration Policy Debates no. 7, September 215, Paris. PISM (215), Who Are They? Two Profiles of Syrian Refugees, The Polish Institute of International Affairs Policy Paper no. 36 (138). Poutvaara, P. and D. Wech (215), ifo Migrationsmonitor, ifo Schnelldienst 68 (23), 24 31. UNHCR (215), Syrian Refugee Arrivals in Greece, Preliminary Questionnaire Findings, April September 215, Geneva. Wech, D. (216a), ifo Migrationsmonitor: Einwanderer und Asylbewerber in Deutschland Zahlen, demographische Angaben, Qualifikationsstrukturen und Arbeitsmarktpartizipation, ifo Schnelldienst 69 (6), 51 8. Wech, D. (216b), ifo Migrationsmonitor: Rückgang der Zahl der registrierten Flüchtlinge schwierige Arbeitsmarktsituation für Asylbewerber, ifo Schnelldienst 69 (12), 68 73. CESifo DICE Report 3/216 (September) 64